Tactical Assault

I suppose it must be really difficult to film with the US Air Force. So difficult, the producers of this movie clearly decamped to Hungary and shot the whole thing with MiG-29s, MiL-24 Hip helicopters and La-39 Albatrosses for the ground shots, but with Israeli F-16s, Nellis-based F-16s and Israeli Phantoms for the aerial sequences. Okay, so maybe I'm just a plane nut, but some of this stuff was sporting dirty great Russian red stars, and pilots were flying one type and getting in and out of another.

As for the tank, who knows, but I bet it was a Russian one!

This movie caught my attention when I read that both Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner, The Hitcher) and Robert Patrick (Terminator 2) were both in it, so me being a fool for low budget movies I decided to watch it.

Hauer plays deranged Captain John 'Doc' Holiday whose got a grudge with father-to-be Colonel Lee Banning, played by Robert Patrick. Captain Holiday wants revenge because of an incident back in the early 90's when Banning stopped Holiday from "having some fun" when attempting to blow up a civilian aircraft which had flown into dangerous air space...sounds a bit silly doesn't it?

Hauer's character in this movie reminded me a lot of John Ryder, the character Hauer portrayed in The Hitcher. Hauer portrays Captain Holiday with the same evil, sarcastic and resentful attitude as he did with John Ryder. While Robert Patrick gets to play the good guy...for once.

Overall, not a bad movie...felt like fellow fighter movies such as TopGun and Iron Eagle at times. Hauer still deserves better than these low-grade movies.

5/10

The movie contains a plethora of action scenes, explosion, blast, aircraft battles with various jet-planes flying to sound-velocity . USA captain John 'Doc' Holiday (Rutger Hauer) was fired during the Gulf War , he loses it under pressure after a fatal incident with a civil airliner over an Iraqi 'no fly zone' , as he nearly shoots down an unarmed passengers airplane . Pilot Banning is forced to shoot down Doc's jet instead save the situation. Unsettling Air Force pilot Holiday looks for destroy the life of his former commandant , who shot him down during the Gulf War to stop him from shooting on unauthorized civilian targets. In Bosnian front commanded by a General ( Ken Howard ), the squad leader is Colonel Lee Banning (Robert Patrick) , he gets him to be reactivated for the service depending on further therapy led by a Doctor (Dey Young) . Deranged Holiday however doesn't see things that way , he feels Lee decommissioned his career, as Doc decides to get avenge on Lee and will stop at noting for vendetta , neither sabotage nor target Banning's pregnant spouse (Isabel Glasser).

This is an average action movie with suspense, thrills, dogfighting with spectacular flight scenes and some commercial elements. The story provides entertainment and action with no sense but sometimes is a little bit boring and dull . Mediocre-budget extended adventures produced about a maverick pilot and his deranged partner undergoing risked feats on air and earth . A standard actioner packed with aerial action , intrigue , and spectacular dogfighting . Robert Patrick shows professionalism as happily married crack fighter pilot , assigned to chase the rebel pilot and ex-partner . Full of jingoist ideals, dubious ethics and violent vengeance . Regular action film in what's really a revenge psycho-thriller . Filmed in Budapest (Hungary) and desert of Mojave (USA) . The film moves like a supersonic bullet for most of its running time and the last generation Jets steal the show. Contrived beyond belief with spectacular dogfights that play like video games, but slickly calculated to please 2000s audiences. The movie follows the wake of ¨Top Gun¨, ¨Iron Eagle I¨ and sequels. The motion picture is regularly directed by Mark Griffits who in the 80s directed films as ¨Hardbodies I, II , Ultraviolet , or Running hot¨ , while in the 90 and 2000 only directs TV movies. Rating : Below average , 4 .

The late 1990s seems to be packed with dozens of low-budget, aerial action combat movies, in the same way that Top Gun generated a wave of wanna-be movies (e.g., "Iron Eagle," "Into The Sun," "Flight of Black Angel," etc.) after its release in the 80s. "Tactical Assault" is just one of those military movies that hits the viewer with standard issue plot and an incredibly inconsistent storyline. It almost makes the low-budget Dolph Lundgren movies look good by comparison. Basically the story of "Tactical Assault" revolves around one insane Airforce officer (Holiday) attempting to inflict his anger and revenge on another (Banning), all while a military operation rages on in Eastern Europe. It's basically the air-to-air version of "Dead Calm" combined with "Death Race 2000" in a sense. This movie is essentially insanity bordering on comedy. The funniest scene is in the end where Colonel Banning says "hey, it's just a civillian vehicle" about a dozen times to Captain Holiday who's about to 'accidentally' destroy a white, American cadillac driving haphazardly down a road. The only redeeming value to this movie is Robert Patrick, who does a surprisingly good job as the hunted Colonel Banning.

... Said the continuity announcer as TACTICAL ASSAULT was about to be broadcast . After seeing the first two minutes I started thinking Rutger might want to get a new agent . After seeing the next ten minutes I started thinking Rutger might want to retire thereby saving a potential audience from any more of his performances

Yup this is a truly terrible movie . I wasn't expecting much and why should I if the name Rutget Hauer appeared in the credits , but within seconds of the opening title credits that featured NATO warplanes with USSR markings bombing Bosnia I realised I was going to be force fed inedible turkey three months after Christmas .

The attention to detail is non existent . NATO planes carry USSR markings then were told Hauer's character spent six years in an Iraqi prison which would make the setting 1997 . What NATO were bombing the Serbs in 1997 ! I guess the producers didn't think the audience would have noticed this ridiculous inaccuracy but I know I did . The producers also probably hoped the audience wouldn't notice the lack of continuity such as dogfights with Iraqi jets that suddenly turned from Migs to F-4 Phantoms then back again but I did . Even stranger characters would take off in F-16s then when they arrive back at base there jet has changed into a Soviet built Mig

Oh and if you're expecting a dumb action movie you're only half right because it's dumb but most of the plot centres around a BASIC INSTINCT revenge plot . I'll give the producers some credit ( Maybe credit is too strong a word ) because after seeing plots featuring nannies from hell , policemen from hell , flat mates from hell we now have a fighter pilot from hell which means every single occupation of the 20th century has featured in a from hell type plot with perhaps TATICAL ASSUALT being the worst movie of the lot